Animal Welfare
Pork Checkoff Research
Research is at the heart of the National Pork Board’s mission and is funded by your Pork Checkoff dollars. Research is administered in all areas of pork production, processing, and human nutrition to develop a higher quality and more profitable product in the competitive meat protein market.
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Learn more about how you can help advance the pork industry through ongoing research.
Animal Welfare
Use of modified rendering trailers to achieve rapid depopulation of modern sow units
The US swine herds are susceptible to the introduction of catastrophic diseases that may require mass depopulation to contain. While the industry is well versed on individual animal euthanasia, mass...
Animal Welfare
Capturing genetic potential for greater sow lifetime productivity
These findings indicate that poor survival to weaning, and lower gilt retention rates during development, are critical issues for low birth weight gilts and for gilts born to sows with a low ALBW_P....
Animal Welfare
Evaluation of Analgesia Efficacy in Piglets Undergoing Castration and Processing
Surgical castration is routinely performed on commercial pig farms in North America to prevent boar taint and aggression. This procedure is known to be painful for piglets, yet is typically done...
Animal Welfare
Validation of a Mobile Electrocution System for Humane Mass Depopulation of Swine
Animal Welfare
Identifying barriers and implementing solutions to practical on-farm pain management during castration
Animal Welfare
Automated computer vision system for tracking individual pig activity and locomotion in nursery/finisher group housing
Animal Welfare
Evaluation of Sodium Nitrite for mass euthanasia of commercial pigs
Animal Welfare
Validation of scan sampling techniques for pain behaviors in castrated piglets
Animal Welfare
